Kent Bush: Plenty to be thankful for

Wednesday

I have no problem remembering to be thankful. On this day set aside for thanksgiving and praise, remember what God has done for you this year, and don’t forget to say thanks.

I may not have the most to be thankful for this year, but I’m in the top ten.

Last year at this time, we had just received our referral and found out that Dawit was going to be our new son.

In the past year, we have made two trips to Ethiopia and added a brand-new –– well, the tags weren’t still on him, but he is as good as new –– 4-year-old boy to our family.

He has been with us for more than four months. Things don’t exactly feel normal yet. But Dawit is doing great, and we never get bored anymore.
I remember six months ago when we were in the middle of what seemed to be an endless delay due to bureaucracy in Addis Ababa. All we wanted was that little boy to come to his new home and complete our family. It consumed our thoughts and prayers.

Thursday will be his first Thanksgiving as an American. It is one of many firsts that will conclude on July 4, 2012, when he sees his first fireworks show. We were in an Ethiopian airport when American’s independence was celebrated in 2011. This year, he will be celebrating along with us.

In 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation that established the "last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent father who dwelleth in the heavens."

It began, “The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart, which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.”

Lincoln recognized that without God’s providence, the nation would be in big trouble.

“No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the most high God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy,” he said.

We don’t always do a great job of remembering how much we pled with God to bring Dawit to us. When cleaning up one of his many messes –– he’s a 4-year-old boy, that’s what they do –– waiting on him to do whatever he is supposed to be doing –– Dawit doesn’t know the meaning of “hurry” –– or trying to convince him to eat normally –– not eat ketchup with a spoon or lick the bottom of the caramel dip after eating apples at McDonalds –– it is hard to remember what life was like without him.

Every time one of us complains about our new little guy, it becomes the job of one of the rest of us to bring the reminder that Dawit was the subject of many prayers, and trying to get him here was the priority for most of two years of our lives.

It feels wrong to let Dawit’s little quirks irritate you when you worked so hard for so long to have a chance to get to know him. We are thankful.

Every time he learns a new word or masters a task, we share the joy he brings. When he tries so hard to make us laugh, we remember why we prayed so long and so hard.

When we measure his physical and emotional growth with milestones, we are thankful that he is no longer suffering from malnourishment and other conditions that stunted his growth and could have threatened his life.

This year, I have so much to be thankful for. I love my job and the people I work with. I love the towns where we work. My family is happy and healthy. We had so many friends standing with us helping us in every way imaginable as we actively waited for Dawit to come home. But most of all, I am thankful for the direct evidence of God’s working in our lives.

Every time I see Dawit, I remember what it took to get him here.
I have no problem remembering to be thankful.

On this day set aside for thanksgiving and praise, remember what God has done for you this year, and don’t forget to say thanks.

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